The Penguins assigned forwards Kasper Bjorkqvist and Michael Chaput as well as defensemen P.O Joseph and Juuso Riikola to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).
All four players were recently recalled and assigned to the NHL club’s taxi squad.
Bjorkqvist made his NHL debut earlier this season and has appeared in six NHL games and scored one goal while averaging 8 minutes, 22 seconds of ice time. With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he has played in 24 games and scored five points (four goals, one assist).
Chaput was recalled to the NHL roster on Tuesday but served as a healthy scratch during a 4-3 overtime home loss to the Washington Capitals that night. He has yet to play in an NHL game this season. Signed to a one-year, two-way contract this past offseason, Chaput has played in 22 AHL games and scored nine points (two goals, seven assists) this season.
Joseph has played in four NHL games this season and has not scored a point while clocking an average of 18:14 per contest. Appearing in 29 AHL games this season, Joseph leads all Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defensemen in scoring with 18 points (four goals, 14 assists).
Riikola has appeared in five NHL games this season and recorded one assist while averaging 13:23 of ice time per contest. In 17 AHL games, he has 12 points (one goal, 11 assists).
After using taxi squads throughout the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 regular season, the NHL reinstituted them on a temporary basis in December to help teams deal with a rise of players testing positive for covid-19. The league is scheduled to eliminate them by the end of the week in advance of the All-Star Game event.
